Golf-bag attachment



March 24, 1925.

.J. L. ACKERMAN GOLF BAG umnmzw Filed April 28. 1923 INVENTOR. I mes/ 51 L. flcxm/mm Patented Mar. 24, 1925.

; umre;.n srarss ore-ice JASPER/L. noxnmmn; on mon'rronnno; INDIANA, ASSIGNO-R or FORTY-NINE PER;

GENT T0 new rrmwmcrumnecomrmw; or monrrcnrno, INDIANA, A 00- PARTNERSHIP" or JASPER L. Acmrmrmm me. HAMIL, SAMUEL w. 'rrronrsorr. LAWBENGE n. CAREY; ANDBEBNA'RD A; voerm,

eonrsnae Arr'rAoHMEN'r.

Application filed-April? 23, 1925;. Serial K036353351.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known-that I, JASPER L. AokunMaN,

a citizen of'the United States, and aresident of Monticello, county of White, and State of Indiana, have, invented acertain new and useful Golf-Bag Attachment.;.and Ifdo hereby declare that. the following isia-full,-..clear,.

for a golf bag, and particularlyto a combination support and counter therefor;

The object of the-invention is to provide.

an attachment which may be readily mount-- ed upon the exterior. of the golf. bELgQWhIGll will enable the user thereof to anchor the bag. in the ground'so that it will stand up- I right. when he. wishesto take-a stroke, rather than dropping. the bag: upon the ground;

A second object offthe invention is to provide in conjunction with. the anchoring,

means, an automatic counter which will reg iste-r a, count eachtimethe anchoring. means.

is actuated by resting the bag-t0 make astroke. This'will enable the player to accurately keep track of-the number of the strokes taken from the tee to the, putting green,,provide'd that the bag i's naot anchored. for other purposes, such as in. hunting a ball. r

One feature of the inventionv resides in the anchoring means comprising a 1 longitudinal.-

ly extending pin having-supporting guides, therefor secured to the bag, and meansfor forcing the pin downwardly into the ground for anchoring the bag thereto. and holding it in upright position, and the Y fill means for aiding in the release of the pin or anchor from the ground and normally maintaining it above the bottom of thebag- 7 Another feature of the. invention comprises an automatic counter associated with and connected to the anchoring pin sothat every time itis operated, thecounte-r. will. be actuated and" register successive numbers for indicating the number of timesthat the bag has been anchored in upright position.

This arrangement will aid the player in countingthe number of strokes assuming that he will so position his bag each time he stops to take a stroke. Of course, the player would have to make allowances for such times he anchored the bag 'for other purposes or took. more than one stroke While the-bag remains inthe same position as upon tl1e;put ting green. 7

The full nature of the invention .will be understood from the accompanying drawings. and the, following description and claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a golf. bag showing the attachment mounted-thereon. Fig. 2 is a; side elevation showing an. enlarged view of the attachment with portions thereof broken away and shown in-cross section. Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is an enlarged front elevation of, the actuating mechanism. 1

In the drawings thereis'shown a golf bag 1i0' 0f. the usual type having a ball pocket 11, shoulder strap 12 and handle 13. The bag is provided with rigid vertical bracing strips 14?, a. bottom protecting cap 15, and. atop leather protecting and stiffening band 16.

Rigidly secured by rivets or other suitable means upon the bottom of the bag, there is a bracket 17 having a pair of openings through whichthe anchor pin or rod 18 is adapted tov slide and be vertically guided. The pin'l8 continuesfupwardly into a cylindrical spring housing '19 which is rigidly secured at its upper end by the clamp 20 lVithin the cylinattached tofthe band 16. drical housinglQ, there is a yieldingspiral springf21 which engages the bottom .end 22 of the housing at, one end and a nut 28 secured to the upper end of the pin 18. Be-

. tween the nut 23 and the top of the housing 19, there, is a pad 24. The spring '21 nor- Fmally tends to maintain. the pin in its upper position butpermits it to be forced to an choring position. Surrounding the pin. 18 just above the middle. of the. bag, there is a graspinghandle25 which enables the user to" grasp thefpin and force it into the ground.

upon placing hisbag upright at rest. That portion of the pin extending into the ground will tend to anchor the bag and maintain it.

in upright position, since it needs very little assistance for that p-ur ose.

Cla'mped' upon the cy indrical" housing; 19,

there is a counter comprising an annular housing 26 having a face 27 provided with the digits 28 from zero to 9. Contained within the housing 26, there is a ratchet wheel 29 having a ratchet corresponding to each digit enumerated thereon, mounted upon a shaft supported by the housing and having a pointer 30, one end thereof extending radially on the outside of the face and positioned to point to one of the digits. Slidably mounted upon the pin 18, there is a finger 31 having the end thereof formed to engage the ratchet wheel 29 in such manner as to cause said wheel to make a single rotary movement upon each downward stroke given to the finger.

In operation, the finger 31 is adapted to slide vertically in a bearing through the housing 26 and extend about the pin 18 upon which it is slidable. Upon the spring 21 elevating the pin 18 to its highest position, the handle 25 is brought into contact with the finger 31 causing it to be elevated to such position as to enable it to engage another ratchet tooth. Upon forcing the pin 18 into the ground the handle releases the finger 31, and the spring 82, which is secured to the housing 26, engages said pin, forcing it down so as to cause the ratchet wheel to turn. There is also provided a pawl 33 which is pivotally mounted on the housing 26 in such manner as to engage the ratchet teeth and prevent the ratchet wheel from turning backward during the upward movement of the finger.

Upon securing this attachment to the bag, the player having turned the pointer 30 to zero, upon approaching a tee, stands the bag up on the ground, and grasping the handle 25 forces the pin 18 downwardly, whereby the bag will be anchored. The finger 31 will rotate the ratchet wheel 29 so as to bring the pointer 30 to the digit 1. He will then make his drive and one stroke will have been made and indicated on the counter. When he reaches his ball and prepares to make the second stroke, he will again stand the bag up and anchor it, bringing the pointer 30 to the digit 2, indicating that he is about to make, or has made, a second stroke. This will be continued until he reaches the green, at which time the counter will indicate the number of strokes he has taken up to that time. Naturally if he has so set his bag without taking a stroke, he must allow for that, although in practice the player would lay his bag on the ground without operating the counter in event he is hunting for a lost ball, or for any other purpose.

The invention claimed is:

1. An attachment for a golf bag comprising a cylinder having a closed top secured to the exterior of the bag, a bracket secured to the bottom of the bag on the exterior thereof, an anchor pin mounted on the exterior of said bag having a pointed end slidably supported in said bracket and the upper end thereof extending into said cylinder, a head on the upper end of said pin positioned within said cylinder, a cushion member mounted in said cylinder betwen said cylinder and the head thereof, a bearing plug secured on the lower open end of said cylinder for closing'the same and providing a bearing for said pin, and a spring surrounding said pin and positioned between said plug and head for normally maintaining the head of said pin against said cushion.

2. An attachment for a golf bag comprising a cylinder having a closed top secured to the exterior of the bag, a bracket secured to the bottom of the bag on the exterior thereof, an anchor pin mounted on the exterior of said bag having a pointed end slidably supported in said bracket and the upper end thereof extending into said cylinder, a head on the upper end of said pin positioned within said cylinder, a cushion member mounted 8 in said cylinder between said cylinder and the head thereof, a bearing plug secured on the lower open end of said cylinder for closing the same and providing a bearing for said pin, a spring surrounding said pin and 90 positioned between said plug and head for normally maintaining the head of said pin against said cushion, and a handle mounted on said pin below said cylinder for permitting the same to be grasped and actuated for anchoring purposes.

8. An attachment for a golf bag comprising a cylinder having a closed top secured to the exterior of the bag, a bracket secured to the bottom of the bag on the exterior thereof, an anchor pin mounted on the exterior of said bag having a. pointed end slidably supported in said bracket and the upper end thereof extending into said cylinder, a head on the upper end of said pin positioned within said cylinder, a cushion menr ber mounted in said cylinder between said cylinder and the head thereof, a bearing plug secured on the lower open end of said cylinder for closing the same and-providing 'a bearing for said pin, a spring surrounding said pin and positioned between said plug and head for normally maintaining the head of said pin against said cushion, a counter having a ratchet member secured to said cylinder, and an actuating finger mounted on said rod below said cylinder in position to engage with said ratchet and actuate said counter upon said pin being reciprocated in said cylinder.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

JASPER L. AOKERMAN. 

